Manila

[QUOTE=Simmer;1683273]As to whether any of it works is another question entirely![/QUOTE]Welcome to pilipines!

[QUOTE=Simmer;1683102]Do they not use the 2nd runway then?[/QUOTE]Yes, they do use the second cross runway for smaller planes like the A320. But it is operated just as if it is a single runway because they can't have planes taking off simultaneously on both runways!

[QUOTE=Simmer;1683102]I found the most annoying to be the Philippine Airlines terminal (I forget which number) where you go through two X-rays, buy some drink airside, and then have to discard said drink because you're the opposite side of a bloody tensabarrier because you're not allowed drinks through the 3rd security barrier. What is the point of the 2nd security then?[/QUOTE]Good question. Last week I went through the first two securities at NAIA T3 and bought some water and juice in the duty free area only to have it confiscated 1 minute later at the more thorough cabin bag search at the check-in gate. This was on a Cebu Pacific flight to Sydney, and the officials attributed this to the Australian immigration requirements. I suggested why don't you check and clear all drinks and liquids purchased by the shops in the duty free area, and that was greeted with a "huh?"

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1683052]NAIA's reputation as one of the world's worst airports is ......... well-deserved.[/QUOTE]I agree with that!

I hold a Philippines Resident Retiree's Visa and holders, if they arrange early enough, can be met and picked up at the airport and transferred downtown. At least that happened to me a year or two ago returning from overseas. A sweet young thing from the Philippines Retirement Authority was waiting at the end of the air-bridge holding a card with my name on it. We were advance tracked through immigration, she called up the car on walky-talky and my car was there for me by the time I had cleared the bag carousel. I will know in a few weeks if this service still applies.

KongKing.

[QUOTE=KongKing;1683373]Yes, they do use the second cross runway for smaller planes like the A320. But it is operated just as if it is a single runway because they can't have planes taking off simultaneously on both runways![/QUOTE]That is correct, A320 with low take off weight is the biggest planes able to depart 13/31 RW. With strong headwind no problem for widebodies to land at the crossrunway but if it is ever beeing done I don't know. Mostly planes from T3 and T4 uses the 13/31 RW. As for getting a more efficient airport handling the best bet would be to build a new parallel 6/24 RW (away from the terminal buildings and away from the Resort World area). I see mostly only shanty houses and a few cargo hold (must be movable) on that side. Then we could get rid off long wait / hold for departure / take off clearance. Due to old equipment and logistic the ATC at NAIA require a hole lot more space between arriving aircrafts than beeing normal at a developed western airport facility. Last time departure with Thai we were holding no more than 7 arrivals before leaving phil soil. I did not clock them down but it must have been 3/4 min between the arriving ones without Thai beeing giving the take off clearance in between. An extra RW could atleast speed things up a bit when arrivals / departures no longer conflicting. Or atleast install some new equipment so ground handling, dep / arr could work more smoothly / effective.

I don't think I've ever waited more than a minute or two after taxiing to take off, or done more than one loop in the hold to land! I guess there are busier times of day than others and I just have been lucky mostly. The thing is, it's not a busy airport at all. There are plenty of *single* runway airports that are far busier. But then of course they have the equipment to handle it. I did recently notice all the inbounds circling (on a radar app) while an emergency came in. I think it delayed all the inbounds by the time it took to do one lap of the hold! When I say all the inbounds. There was just one within 50 miles of the airport!

[QUOTE=Skogis;1683435]That is correct, A320 with low take off weight is the biggest planes able to depart 13/31 RW. With strong headwind no problem for widebodies to land at the crossrunway but if it is ever beeing done I don't know. Mostly planes from T3 and T4 uses the 13/31 RW. As for getting a more efficient airport handling the best bet would be to build a new parallel 6/24 RW (away from the terminal buildings and away from the Resort World area). I see mostly only shanty houses and a few cargo hold (must be movable) on that side. Then we could get rid off long wait / hold for departure / take off clearance. Due to old equipment and logistic the ATC at NAIA require a hole lot more space between arriving aircrafts than beeing normal at a developed western airport facility. Last time departure with Thai we were holding no more than 7 arrivals before leaving phil soil. I did not clock them down but it must have been 3/4 min between the arriving ones without Thai beeing giving the take off clearance in between. An extra RW could atleast speed things up a bit when arrivals / departures no longer conflicting. Or atleast install some new equipment so ground handling, dep / arr could work more smoothly / effective.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=SkipKost;1682855]Airport Hotel is a five minute walk from Terminal One, a ten or twelve minute walk from Terminal Two, but absolutely a taxi ride if you arrive at Terminal Three, as Rum Buddy presumably did. It sounds to me like he arrived at Terminal Three, and somebody directed him to the white ticket taxis. Relative to the fares they have quoted me for getting to Makati or Ermita, I would have expected the fare to Airport Hotel (right in front of Terminal One) at perhaps 500 pesos. How it got to 1300 pesos sounds like, as be Max suggests, that others took a cut, assuming RB was a newb with potential for exploitation. Bottom line, RB paid about 700-800 more than he should have. So he got gouged for about 16 USD. And Filipino leaders wonder why their country can't realize its potential as a tourist destination.[/QUOTE]Never accept or offer a quoted price for a taxi in the Philippines especially when you are a newbie to the country and don't have any real knowledge of what the ride should approximately cost. Always ask for the meter price and if the meter is 'broken' ... just change cabs!

[QUOTE=OsakaGin11;1683735]Never accept or offer a quoted price for a taxi in the Philippines especially when you are a newbie to the country and don't have any real knowledge of what the ride should approximately cost. Always ask for the meter price and if the meter is 'broken' ... just change cabs![/QUOTE]There are no meters in the white coupon cabs. As GE indicated they operate on a set fee according to destination, but I'm thinking the fee they quoted me in August for Terminal 3 to Makati was more than the 330php that GE recalls. What I was quoted was the 440 WR mentions--or maybe more. The only metered cab options from NAIA are yellow cabs, which have notoriously long waiting lines, or regular cabs, if you know how to track them down and don't mind dragging luggage to the departure level.

[QUOTE=Rogue5;1683297]

The runways can be used simultaneously because they don't actually intersect, except for the departure path off of runway 13. The paved portion that does intersect is not considered part of the actual runway, it would be considered a stop way if taking off on runway 13. There are restrictions on the use of runway 31 for takeoff by narrow body jets so the best case scenario is for runway 6 and runway 13 to be in use at the same time. That would allow the most traffic volume.[/QUOTE]I have seen this combination in operation at NAIA. A couple of smaller turboprops, maybe Dash 8's, took of on heading 31 (to the Northwest) and less than a minute later a plane was either landing or taking off on heading 6 (Northeast) on the longer runway. I presume the smaller turboprop does not put up enough prop wash to be a problem for the larger planes using the longer runway.

Last August on the night I was supposed to arrive from Tokyo a Saudi plane skidded off either the runway or a critical taxiway near one end of the 6-24 runway. No damage, but the plane got stuck in the mud and grass and apparently blocked traffic for 6-24 for 12 hours or more. They continued to land planes up to A320's on 13-31, but everything bigger that needed 6-24 got diverted or sent back (including my plane) to their originating airports.

[QUOTE=OsakaGin11;1683735]Never accept or offer a quoted price for a taxi in the Philippines especially when you are a newbie to the country and don't have any real knowledge of what the ride should approximately cost. Always ask for the meter price and if the meter is 'broken' ... just change cabs![/QUOTE]Sound advise.

I repeat advise I read on the board some time ago. ALWAYS use a moving taxi. The taxis that hang out outside a hotel or a bar waiting for a customer will have to overcharge you for the time that they are hanging out and not making money.

[QUOTE=SkipKost;1683969]There are no meters in the white coupon cabs. As GE indicated they operate on a set fee according to destination, but I'm thinking the fee they quoted me in August for Terminal 3 to Makati was more than the 330php that GE recalls. What I was quoted was the 440 WR mentions--or maybe more. .[/QUOTE]There is Makati 1 and 2 so the Fairmont where GE would hang out a lot is closer to Glorietta (my center point of reference) then say Burgos which is where I go and I pay PHP 440.

I have seen huge queues for the yellow cab and the Uber seems popular and cheaper also.

[QUOTE=Pompetus;1683988]Sound advise.

I repeat advise I read on the board some time ago. ALWAYS use a moving taxi. The taxis that hang out outside a hotel or a bar waiting for a customer will have to overcharge you for the time that they are hanging out and not making money.[/QUOTE]Watch out for this scam with some metered taxis at NAIA. The driver hands you an official-looking-but-not, laminated fare list and he wants to play make believe with you and your wallet. "Stop, please. Yes, really, stop. Turn on the meter or let me out." Before getting in the taxi make sure you ask whether or not he'll use the meter; he may ask for an extra 50 pesos, which isn't unreasonable. If he has your luggage in the boot already then your exit is just a bigger hassle. BTW, this was a moving taxi that had just dropped off a passenger at NAIA terminal 1.

I arrived at LA cafe at 10:30 pm hoping to find a find cute gal that would accompany me to various bars and clubs before retiring in my condo. It never happened. All the girls in LA cafe are mercenary and treat this experience as work. They wanted ridiculous amount and are arguing over what time they will go home. Also very few women at LA cafe were remotely good looking.

I had better luck hitting Exclusiv and Zzyzyx. Had a good time buying girls at Exclusiv drinks (400 pesos each) and dancing / flirting with them. They were super hot IMHO. Once I finish playing there, off to Zzyzyx. Had a good time shopping for good looking women. There were 2 women that I fancy. After dancing and holding hands with both of them, I decided to pick the one that was the friendliest. Unlike LA cafe, no mercenary attitude. Yes, there were some negotiation on price, but everything was pleasant afterwards. It was 4:30 am. Decided to leave.

Overall, comparing mongering at la cafe vs. At zzyzyx was night and day. I'm a better. T looking young Asian American, and I felt discriminated in LA cafe. The half decent women there had the golden pussy syndrome.

Yet in Zzyzyx I was treated much better. Women were much hotter and they were easy to flirt. As a young decent guy with some game, your best choices are using clubbing for mongering over these "Thermae cafe" type establishments.

[QUOTE=VIPhawaii;1685102]
I had better luck hitting Exclusiv and Zzyzyx. Yes, there were some negotiation on price, but everything was pleasant afterwards. Your best choices are using clubbing for mongering over these "Thermae cafe" type establishments.[/QUOTE]Good post! Forgive my ignorance. I have never heard of Exclusiv and ZZyzyx. Expatiate on these please. The girl that you met there, She must have been a freelancer? How much did you pay her? What do you mean by a "Thermae cafe?" Thank you and I again apologize for my lack of knowledge.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1684153]Watch out for this scam with some metered taxis at NAIA.[/QUOTE]I found a much cheaper, but not so comfortable way to go from Terminal 3 in Manila to a hotel in the city.

As I left the Airport after 10 pm and went out, naturally many men offered to me "private transport" to the hotel. They quoted up to extortionate 1500 Peso! I used Manila Airport before sometimes, and know how to act. Normally I go to the departure level and look for a white metered taxi there. But it was extreme crowded and I calculated to wait for more than one hour. So I went down again to the arrival level. But same disaster, also many people waited for a taxi. The time to wait would have been surely also more than one hour. So I turned right and walked a few meters to the white Airport busses. They drive in any directions. I choose the bus to Pasay. I had to wait maybe 5 minutes, till the bus was full. The only disadvantage is, you must take your luggage into the bus, they have no separate baggage partition. But the prize is unbeatable and also its mostly much faster than to wait for a metered taxi. You have to pay 20 Peso to Pasay. I left the bus at EDSA street and took a metered taxi after a few seconds to Tune Hotel in Ermita. I paid less than 100 Peso to the hotel.

At Terminal 2 it sure the same with Airport busses, but there I never needed, because I never had to wait long there for a metered taxi.

[QUOTE=OldGerman;1685235]I found a much cheaper, but not so comfortable way to go from Terminal 3 in Manila to a hotel in the city.

As I left the Airport after 10 pm and went out, naturally many men offered to me "private transport" to the hotel. They quoted up to extortionate 1500 Peso! I used Manila Airport before sometimes, and know how to act. Normally I go to the departure level and look for a white metered taxi there. But it was extreme crowded and I calculated to wait for more than one hour. So I went down again to the arrival level. But same disaster, also many people waited for a taxi. The time to wait would have been surely also more than one hour. So I turned right and walked a few meters to the white Airport busses. They drive in any directions. I choose the bus to Pasay. I had to wait maybe 5 minutes, till the bus was full. The only disadvantage is, you must take your luggage into the bus, they have no separate baggage partition. But the prize is unbeatable and also its mostly much faster than to wait for a metered taxi. You have to pay 20 Peso to Pasay. I left the bus at EDSA street and took a metered taxi after a few seconds to Tune Hotel in Ermita. I paid less than 100 Peso to the hotel.

At Terminal 2 it sure the same with Airport busses, but there I never needed, because I never had to wait long there for a metered taxi.[/QUOTE]To Old German.

That no saving at all if you get a meter taxi from Terminal 3 to Tune in Malate is should only 120 p why go through all this.

Fast eddie 48.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1684153]Watch out for this scam with some metered taxis at NAIA. The driver hands you an official-looking-but-not, laminated fare list and he wants to play make believe with you and your wallet. "Stop, please. Yes, really, stop. Turn on the meter or let me out." Before getting in the taxi make sure you ask whether or not he'll use the meter; he may ask for an extra 50 pesos, which isn't unreasonable. If he has your luggage in the boot already then your exit is just a bigger hassle. BTW, this was a moving taxi that had just dropped off a passenger at NAIA terminal 1.[/QUOTE]I am not sure this is a scam. There are taxis that are metered and there are taxi / limos that are pay fixed price.

When I lived in Makati and I needed to go to the airport at an unusual time or when I had a lot of luggage, I used to order one of these limo taxis using a service. They would be about twice the cost of a meter taxi but you could order them to your home and they would be on time and would wait for 10 minutes for you gratis and call you when they arrived. I don't think there is much advantage to taking them from the airport especially if there is a meter taxi available there.

When there is bad weather which invariably involves flooding, you are glad for anything that brings you home. How many times I was stuck sleeping at the airport until I could get a cab of any kind who would being me home for any money!?